Part Ⅱ Listening Comprehension

Section A

Conversation One

整体预测

选项中重复出现了American presidents，结合books，librarian和libraries可知，对话可能涉及美国总统和图书馆。

M：Excuse me.I wonder if you could help me.

W：What can I do for you？

M：Well，I’m working on a term paper about the influence of television on American presidential elections.

W：Have you ever been to the main library？

M：Yes，I’ve found a few useful books there，but the librarian at the main library suggested that the library here at the graduate school has more specialised materials.

W：Okay.It depends on what you want.We do subscribe to a large number of journals.Since you’re working on such a broad topic you’ll probably have to do a lot of digging.

M：Do you think I can get something relevant here？

W：It may take some time，but you’ll be able to find many articles relevant to your topic.We also have quite a few newspapers on microfilm.

M：I think I’ve come to the right place.How can I find out which journals you have？

W：There’s a list of all of them.But if you want to search by author or by subject you can use one of the computers over there.Everything we have is in there.

M：What if I run across a reference to a research study that isn’t available here？

W：You can request any outside materials just by typing your request into the computer.

M：You mean I can get materials from other universities？

W：Not only from other universities，but from virtually any public or private library in the United States.The only limitation is that outside materials cannot be checked out.

1.What is the topic of the man’s term paper？

解析D）。选项中重复出现的American presidents和television表明，本题与美国总统和电视有关。对话开头男士提到自己正在写一篇关于the influence of television on American presidential elections的term paper，故答案为D），其中的effect与influence对应。

2.Why did the man come to the graduate school library？

解析B）。选项中的he wants to，morematerials，there和larger volume of books表明，本题可能与男士去there的原因有关。女士问男士是否已经去过主图书馆，男士说I’ve found a few useful books there，but the librarian at the main library suggestedhas more specialised materials，由此可知，男士来研究生院图书馆是为了查找more specialised materials，故答案为B）。

3.What does the librarian say about the topic of the man’s term paper？

解析A）。选项中的it，too obscure和should make a change表明，本题考查对it的看法。女士说since you’re working on such a broad topic you’ll probably have to do a lot of digging，言外之意就是男士需要做很多工作，故答案为A）。since表原因处常设为考点，听音时应留意。

4.How can the man refer to materials from other libraries？

解析B）。选项均为“by+动名词”开头表明，本题考查做某事的方式。对话最后，男士问如果他需要查阅的资料这里没有怎么办，女士说you can request any outside materials just by typing your request into the computer。由此可知，答案为B）。

Conversation Two

整体预测

从本对话四道题选项中重复出现的pepper，并结合第5题可知，对话可能与胡椒粉有关，涉及生产过程、口味、颜色等。

M：Could you hand me the white pepper？

W：Why white pepper and not black？Aren’t they the same thing？

M：They are from the same plant，but the white pepper is milder and it has a more subtle flavour.

W：How？

M：Well，it depends on how ripe it is when it’s picked.You surely ask a lot of questions.

W：That’s because you have all the answers.Did you learn about this stuff in cooking school？

M：Yeah，we studied all kinds of herbs and spices.

W：It’s interesting.How do we get black pepper then？

M：Well，the peppercorn is actually a fruit.It grows on vines.It’s not really black or white.It turns from green to yellow，to red，as it ripens.For black pepper，you pick it when it’s still a little immature，and then it’s dried.

W：Dried in darkness？

M：Well，the skin turns dark as it dries.

W：Does that mean white pepper is pepper without the skin？

M：Exactly.It is put to dry in the sun after the skin has been wrapped off.It’s also matured a little longer than black pepper.

W：So they do all that just to get a milder peppercorn？

M：For synthetical reasons.Some chefs like the idea that it keeps white sources white.

W：These green peppercorns are interesting.I’ve never seen them before.

M：Green pepper has a very distinctive flavour.

W：So it must be picked when it’s really young.

M：Right.It’s either put in a liquid or freeze dried to keep its colour.

W：Well，you are quite the pepper expert，aren’t you？

M：Oh，a good chef’s got to know all the spices.

W：I’ll be the judge of that.Let me taste.Hmm，you passed.

5.What are the speakers mainly discussing？

解析B）。选项各不相同且具有概括性表明，本题可能考查对话的话题。对话开头女士问男士白胡椒和黑胡椒是否是一种东西。男士说，虽然都是胡椒，但是根据采摘时的成熟程度不同会有不同的味道。然后详细说明了二者的生产过程，故答案为B）。

6.How did the man learn about pepper？

解析C）。根据第5题可知，本题选项中的it指pepper。结合in a cookbook，from a friend和in cooking school可知，本题可能考查男士了解pepper的渠道。对话中女士问男士Did you learn about this stuff in cooking school？男士给出肯定回答（yeah），故答案为C）。

7.According to the man，why do some cooks prefer white pepper？

解析D）。选项中的easier to grow和fruity flavour表明，本题可能考查pepper的优点。在说到白胡椒时，男士提到“Some chefs like the idea that it keeps white sources white.”，即不会改变汤汁的颜色，故答案为D）。

8.What can we learn from the conversation？

解析A）。选项中重复出现的the woman，the man以及其中的likes，received和indifferent表明，本题可能考查女士或男士的行为态度或喜好。对话结尾处女士说男士做的东西很好吃（Let me taste.Hmm，you passed.），故答案为A）。

Section B

Passage One

整体预测

本短文三道题选项中重复出现了sandwiches，结合created和emerged可知，短文可能与三明治有关，涉及三明治的起源等。

At lunch time，and sometimes at other times in the day，people in the UK often eat a“sandwich”.This consists of two pieces of bread and a filling.

However，there are literally hundreds of different types of sandwiches，and each variation has its own flavour.Some of the most popular and famous sandwiches in the UK are：BLT，Ploughman’s，Tuna，and Egg sandwiches.Sandwiches of all varieties are extremely popular，and quick and easy to eat.In fact，British people eat 2.8 billion each year—not bad for a population of only 60 million people！

In 1762 the first written record of the word“sandwich”appeared in the diary of the English author Edward Gibbons，who remembered seeing the wealthiest elite in the country eating“a bit of cold meat”between pieces of bread.Gibbons did not think this was very appropriate behaviour for such men！

The snack was named after the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.Sandwich was a frequent gambler，and was so addicted to gambling that he would often refuse to stop even to eat meals.To avoid having to stop gambling，the Earl of Sandwich asked the cooks at his gambling club to prepare him a meal consisting of beef between two slices of bread，so that he always had one hand free to play cards and gamble，and his hands wouldn’t become dirty from the meat.

When other men saw what he was eating，they began to order“the same as Sandwich！”，and so the sandwich was born—beginning as a snack for some of the wealthiest men in England！It quickly became popular and widespread as a quick and easy food to eat.

9.What is the passage mainly about？

解析C）。选项均为与sandwich（es）有关的名词短语且概括性强表明，本题考查短文主题，该主题应该与三明治有关。短文开头提到，英国人非常喜欢吃三明治，接着介绍三明治有很多类型，并举例说明英国一些受欢迎且有名的三明治，随后提到关于三明治的文字记载最早出现在1762年，短文最后详细介绍了三明治及其名字的由来。由此可知，短文主要讲了三明治的起源，故答案为C）。A）、B）、D）均为短文内容的一部分，不能概况短文的主要内容，故排除。

10.How many sandwiches do British people eat each year？

解析B）。选项的内容表明，本题考查数字，听音时应留意与数字相关的信息。短文中提到，British people eat 2.8 billion each year，故答案为B）。数字处常设为考点，是听音重点。

11.What can we learn about the sandwich？

解析D）。选项中的it was created，primary form of hamburger和emerged as a snack表明，本题与it的起源有关，it可能指三明治。短文结尾处提到the sandwich was born—beginning as a snack for some of the wealthiest men in England，D）正是对此的同义转述，故为答案。

Passage Two

整体预测

本短文四道题选项中的onlinewebsite，communication tool，privacy和communicate表明，短文可能是对某一网络交流平台的介绍。

Each Facebook user has on average 130 friends and shares 70 bits of personal information—including home movies and family photos—every month.With 500 million users detailing their moods and passions online，Facebook is more than a social networking site.It’s a global phenomenon that’s shaping the way people communicate.

Facebook has half a billion users.That’s huge for a planet of less than 7 billion people.

What grew as the pet project of Mark Zuckerberg，when he was a student at Harvard，has exploded—gaining eight new users every second for the past 15 months.

Facebook has changed the way many people communicate—letting its millions of users share personal thoughts and images with their network of friends.

Zuckerberg，Facebook’s CEO，said，“People have really gotten connected，not only sharing more information and different kinds but being more open and with more people，and that social norm is just something that’s changed over time.”And people share a lot.Whole lives play out on Facebook.Births，graduations，marriage，even divorce.

Some experts say that sharing too much information can have downsides—including affecting the way prospective employers may evaluate a job candidate.

Yet，people share personal information on the site 70 times per month on average.

Information can easily spread like a virus with the click of a mouse，says Nelson.“Now we have this technology for this one community to talk to another community，and all these different conversations happen at the same time.almost effortlessly，”he said.

He says the future of social media is mobile.More phones will be able to support Facebook giving even more people access to their online communities from the palm of their hand.

12.What is Facebook？

解析B）。选项中的it is，study website，communication tool和recruiting website表明，it可能是一种网络产品，本题考查其本质。短文开头提到Facebook不仅仅是一个社交网站（a social networking site），它还是影响人们交流方式的一种全球现象。由此可知，Facebook是一种社交工具，故答案为B）。

13.How many Facebook users are there all over the world？

解析C）。选项的内容表明，本题考查数字，听音时应留意与数字相关的信息。短文提到Facebook has half a billion users，故答案为C）。数字处常设为考点，是听音的重点。

14.What is one of the downsides of sharing too much information on Facebook，according to some experts？

解析D）。选项中的it，causeproblems，leakprivacy和affectopportunity表明，本题考查it的不良影响，听音时注意it指代什么。短文中提到some experts say that sharing too much information can have downsides—including affectingemployers may evaluate a job candidate，言外之意就是会影响求职者的就业机会，故答案为D）。列举处为常考点，听音时应留意。

15.How often do people share information on Facebook on average？

解析C）。选项的内容表明，本题考查某事每月发生的频率。短文开头提到each Facebook usershares 70 bits of personal informationevery month，故答案为C）。

Section C

Recording One

整体预测

本段录音第16题和19题选项中重复出现的bicycles以及invention，history和第18题选项中的年代表明，录音很可能是关于自行车的历史及其发明情况。

We don’t know with certainty who invented the bicycle，or where it was invented，or when.We do know that the modern bicycle had several predecessors from different parts of Europe，and that many of its individual components were developed separately at different periods of time.Some historians claim that the famous artist Leonardo da Vinci is the true father of the bicycle.In 1490，da Vinci sketched a remarkable picture of a modern bicycle，but his idea was never implemented.Ironically，da Vinci also sketched a modern helicopter hundreds of years before it was officially “invented”.Hmm.Anyway，about three hundred years later，a French inventor built something similar to a bicycle，called a running machine.This funny equipment was made of wood，and it had two wheels connected by a beam，but no pedals or a，um，controlling mechanism.In 1817，a German named Karl von Drais improved the running machine by adding a front wheel that could be easily steered.He called his device a Draisienne，but because that word was hard to pronounce，it became popularly known as a“hobby horse，”which was the name of a popular children’s toy at the time.Hobby horses were a popular fashion for a while.However，they were still hard to ride along the unpaved roads of that day.

Many credit Kirkpatrick Macmillan with the invention of the first modern bicycle in 1839.Macmillan，a Scottish blacksmith，made a rear-wheel driven machine that people said could reach high speeds—high being a relative term， of course.The French，however，said，er，took exception to Macmillan’s claim.To this day，they call Pierre Michaux the“father of the bicycle”，because Michaux and his son，Ernest，added pedals and cranks in the mid-1860s.They called their innovation a velocipede，which means“fast foot”，and it sparked a bicycle craze in both Europe and the US.Um，just like hobby horses，though，the popularity of velocipedes was short-lived.Turns out velocipedes were heavy，clumsy to mount and steer，and，despite their nickname，slow.

Next，in 1870，a British engineer named James Starley developed a more efficient，all-metal machine.Starley called it a“penny farthing”，and later it was the first machine to be called a bicycle—meaning“two wheels”.Penny farthings had a large front wheel and a small back wheel，along with wire spokes and something new：solid rubber tires，courtesy of another Brit—R.W.Thompson—who had patented the first type of rubber inner tube in 1845.These tires provided a smoother ride，because the large front wheel could travel，um，farther with one rotation of the pedals.

16.What is the main topic of the lecture？

解析B）。选项均为名词短语，结合其中重复出现的bicycles表明，本题可能考查录音的主题，可能涉及自行车。录音一开始就提出我们不能确定自行车是什么时间由谁在哪儿发明的，接着介绍了不同时期自行车的发明情况。由此可知，该录音的主题是自行车的历史，故答案为B）。

点睛录音中提到了自行车的发明情况，但整个演讲并不是围绕自行车是如何被发明的话题展开，故排除A）。

17.What does the professor imply about Leonardo da Vinci？

解析D）。选项均为描述he的句子，结合其中的great artist，excellent cyclist和visionary inventor可知，本题可能考查有关he的一些事实细节，可能涉及对其身份的评价。录音中提到，达·芬奇曾经绘制了一张非常完美的现代自行车构图，但他从未实现这个想法。更讽刺的是，在直升机被正式发明的几百年前他也曾画过一架现代直升机。由此可知，教授在暗示达·芬奇是一个有远见的发明家，故答案为D）。

18.When was the first modern bicycle invented？

解析D）。选项内容表明，本题可能考查某件事情发生的年代。由录音中提到的“Many credit Kirkpatrick Macmillan with the invention of the first modern bicycle in 1839.”可知，第一辆现代自行车是在1839年被发明的，故答案为D）。

19.What are“penny farthings”？

解析C）。选项中重复出现的bicycles with以及pedals，tires，chains和gears等表示自行车部件的名词表明，本题可能考查某种自行车的具体构造。录音中提到，“penny farthings”后来被第一次称之为自行车，也就是“两个轮子”，接下来又补充到“penny farthings”前轮大后轮小（had a large front wheel and a small back wheel），带有辐条和其他新的装置等。由此可知，“penny farthings”主要是指一种前轮大、后轮小的自行车，故答案为C）。

Recording Two

整体预测

本段录音后两题选项中重复出现的definition，kitsch，art和taste（s）表明，录音很可能是关于对某种艺术的定义或评价，注意辨听kitsch到底指的什么艺术。

Kitsch typically makes us think of something cheap or distasteful，but it can also，um sometimes，be used as a compliment as well.Kitsch comes from，is originally a German term，and it，generally speaking it refers to works of art that are widely considered to be pretentious or in poor taste.Kitsch is produced for the masses，to appeal to the popular and，um，undiscriminating tastes of quote-unquote regular people.While it usually carries a negative connotation，some people find kitsch to be quite appealing，because of its backward value and its uh，how should I put it？It’s accidently irony.Still，many art purists believe that kitsch have been put into all popular culture，and others even go so far as to say that kitsch and popular culture are one and the same.

The term most likely arose in 19th century Munich art markets.It was an English mispronunciation of a German word that means，um，“scraping up mud from the streets”，and was later understood as artwork that was“slapped together”rather than，um，er，painstakingly created.Kitsch is most often associated with art that has a sentimental quality to it.But it can also be used to refer to any kind of art that is，uh，lacking in some shape or form，whatever it may be.What differentiates Kitsch from popular art is that it typically copy high art；it insists on being taken seriously even though it is obviously superficial and parasitic.Though kitsch objects might initially appear to be arts—uh，beautiful，or creative，a closer look reveals that they repeat the formula and convention of high art，but without any spark of inspiration or originality.In this context，Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece painting，Mona Lisa，is genuine art，but hand-painted，mass-produced reproductions of the painting are kitsch.

So does it become less of a masterpiece when it’s um，like I just said，mass reproduced on cheap canvasses and coffee mugs and stuff？Well，in a sense，yes it does become less than，less of a masterpiece.Umthe major appeal is the facial expression，but with true art the medium is important too.It’s the expression，plus the canvas，plus the paint，plus the artist’s signature strokes，all put together.A photographic or hand-painted reproduction just can approximate that image，but it can’t capture it just the same way.

20.What aspect of kitsch does the professor mainly discuss？

解析C）。选项内容表明，本题可能考查录音主要探讨的是its的哪个方面。录音一开始就针对德语中kitsch这一术语进行简单的解释，接着又进一步具体阐述这个术语的来源并举例说明其含义。由此可知，教授在录音中主要探讨了kitsch（庸俗的文艺作品）的含义，故答案为C）。

21.According to the professor，where did the term kitsch originate？

解析B）。选项均为表示年代和地点的名词短语，听音时应注意与数字和地点相关的信息，听清问题所问。由录音中提到的“The term most likely arose in 19th century Munich art markets.”可知，kitsch这一术语最早可能是在19世纪的慕尼黑出现的，故答案为B）。

22.Why does the professor mention Mona Lisa？

解析C）。选项均以“to+动词原形”开头表明，本题可能考查某种目的或行为建议。教授在演讲中提到，达·芬奇的杰作《蒙娜丽莎》是真正的艺术，而那些手工绘制的、大批量生产的复制品则是庸俗的文艺作品，之后还就学生对该观点的疑问做了解答。由此可见，教授在此提到《蒙娜丽莎》这幅作品，是想通过举例说明一种很流行的庸俗艺术，故答案为C）。

Recording Three

整体预测

本段录音第23题和25题选项中重复出现的prototypes，horses和domestication表明，录音很可能与马的驯养有关，可能涉及马原来的样子等。

Several theories compete to explain when，how，and where—check that，why—wild horses were initially domesticated.Primitive cave art depicts horses as early as 32，000 years ago，but it’s generally agreed that humans did not domesticate the animals until sometime between 5，000 and，uh，2，000 BC.Many scholars accept a theory，er，an hypothesis，that domestication occurred in the Ukraine about 4，000 BC.However，recent evidence indicates that horses in northern Kazakhstan might have been domesticated as much as 1，600 years earlier than that by people of the Botai culture.But one of the archaeologists who discovered this new evidence has speculated that horses were domesticated even earlier，probably in Russia or the Ukraine，and then ridden east to Kazakhstan.Thus the plot thickens.

Why is it so hard to explain exactly the definitive time and place of the earliest horse domestication？One，a major reason is a lack of concrete evidence.Modern horses are almost identical to their wild ancestors when comparing the structure of their bodies，which forces researchers to rely on circumstantial evidence in formulating domestication hypotheses.Part of the case presented for domestication is soil analysis that indicates the waste matter from ancient horses within an enclosure.

But again，the fact horses may have lived，been kept together in an enclosure does not necessarily equate with domesticity，because many ancient peoples used horses for meat and，uh，help with labor，similar to the use of oxen in harvesting today.Recent DNA comparisons between living horses and horse fossils suggest that domestication cannot be narrowed to a single place or time；rather，it occurred more or less simultaneously all over the world.Because the DNA analysis revealed widespread genetic variances among both modern and ancient horses—unlike other domesticated animals，like sheep and cattle—it appears that domesticated horses had multiple wild descendants in many different places.

23.What is the lecture mainly about？

解析D）。选项均为名词短语表明，本题可能考查录音的主题。选项中除B）之外其他都与马有关系，故B）为答案的可能性较小。录音一开始就引出话题：几种说法曾争着解释野马最初被驯养的时间、地点和原因，接着提出了为什么很难解释最早进行马匹驯养的确切时间和地点。由此可知，该录音主要是讲马匹驯养的起源问题，故答案为D）。

24.According to the professor，what is the main reason to determining the origin of horse domestication？

解析D）。选项中的discoveries以及DNA和evidence表明，本题可能考查研究马匹驯养过程中的发现或相关证据。教授在讲为什么很难解释最早进行马匹驯养的确切时间和地点时提到，其中最主要的原因就是缺乏确凿的证据（a lack of concrete evidence），故答案为D）。D）是原文中的信息再现。

25.What does DNA analysis reveal about the domestication of horses？

解析A）。选项中重复出现的domestication和occurred以及places，period，used in warfare表明，本题可能考查有关研究马匹驯养所得出的一些结论。录音中明确提到，近期将现存马匹与之前的化石做DNA比对后发现，马匹驯养不能定位于某个地方或某个时期，相反，这种驯养差不多在全世界同时发生。A）的说法与该观点相符，故为答案。